The Blood is the Life
by DragonyPhoenix
Summary: Season 7. Spike shows up, half-dead, at the castle.
1. Chapter 1

Spike had walked up to the castle, through the waist high snow, only a couple of hours before the dawn. The Slayer's guarding on the night shift had almost killed him before one realized who he was.

Now he was laid out on one of the beds, in the room next to Buffy's. The shifting of bedrooms had caused some grumbling but Buffy didn't care. "What's wrong with him?" Buffy demanded before Willow had come fully out of her spell.

"Nothing," Willow said, sounding defensive.

"There has to be something. Look at him." Spike hadn't moved in the three hours since he'd passed out just outside their gates. Granted he was dead, technically, which meant he didn't, well, twitch, but still. He should have woken up or … or something.

"It's not a spell. Magical sight isn't showing anything. I think he's just exhausted."

"Why isn't he waking up? He must need something."

"I think blood maybe. Human blood."

"Fine. Tell Xander to send a squad. Nearest blood bank. Make it quick."

"Buffy?"

Buffy wrapped her arms around herself. "I can't lose him again."


	2. The Five Sisters Zoo

Buffy stared across the road to where the trees lined the fence. She could see that in the summer the leaves might obscure the fence a bit and give the zoo a more natural feel, but in the middle of winter the leafless branches provided absolutely no cover. "It's dark," she said.

After she'd stood there without moving for five minutes, Xander had gotten out of the car to stand, shivering, next to her. "Of course it's dark. It's, oh, about 3 A. M. It's also freezing. Could we get this done with so we can get back to our drafty and much warmer than I'd ever realized castle?"

"We're around the back."

"That's because we're breaking in," Xander replied. "Well, you'll be breaking in and I'll be jumping back into the nice and toasty car as soon as you start with the breaking in. Most people, when they're breaking into a zoo – or into much of anything really – don't go through the front entrance."

"It's bigger than I thought."

"Buffy, you've got the map. You've had the whole drive up here to study it." Xander pulled his hands out from under his arms to grab the map and spread it out. "See. Five Sisters Zoo. All that space. You knew it was big, but the Reptile Building is clearly marked. All you have to do is go in, get an adder, and get out."

"I don't know where I'm going in."

Xander glared at her.

"Well, I don't. What if I go in through this big bear area?"

"Buffy, it's delightful, got a waterfall and everything."

Buffy glared back.

"Buf, you've fought a bear before and besides, it's winter. Don't bears hibernate? They'll probably all be asleep."

"It's the probably that's bugging me."

"No it isn't," Xander said.

"What?"

"It isn't that it's dark, or that we're behind the zoo, or the bears. What's really bugging you?"

"Willow should be here," Buffy said with a shrug. "If she were here she could just get the venom and we could leave the snake."

"Willow is busy chopping up toad legs for this Spike restoring spell You know how Willow feels about toads. I mean, they aren't frogs, exactly, but they look a lot alike so she's got to be big with the wigging right about now. Almost as big with the wigging as you are. What's really wrong? Come on, spill."

Buffy folded her arms, leaned back against the car, and tilted her head as she looked over toward Xander. "What if it doesn't work?"

With a relieved smile Xander handed the map back to Buffy. "Come on, Buf. When has Willow ever let you down?" After a pause he rushed on, "Okay, bad example, but she's big with the witchy mojo nowadays. She knows what she's doing, and she's run it past the Devonshire coven. They are super careful with the magic. It'll work. You'll get Spike back, although what you want with him … "

Buffy grinned and punched at Xander's arm.

"And can I say ow?"

"Sorry." Buffy took another look at the map and picked up the box for the adder. "What if the snake freezes on the way back to the car?"

"Buffy."

"Yeah, okay." Buffy set off for the fence.


	3. White Billowing Smoke

Willow's spell, as enhanced by the Devonshire coven, was taking forever. Buffy supposed that was good – maybe that meant it was safer – but she was bored. She looked down at her arm. At least the swelling was going down. Stupid adder. She'd dropped it after it had bitten her and taken the other instead, which had turned out to be a good idea. Who knew that snakes used up their venom when they bit?

Finally Willow was bringing out the dragon's blood, which was really a nice smelling incense and not blood at all. When she added the dragon's blood, white smoke billowed up, but Willow didn't look upset so maybe she expected that to happen. Willow picked up the smoking potion. She'd told them she had to circle Spike six times. The smoke kept billowing out. Xander started choking a minute or two before Buffy did. She tried waving her hand to move some of the smoke away. Didn't work. Buffy didn't worry too much – Willow had seemed unconcerned after all – until she heard Willow's voice. "Um, Buffy?"


	4. Mood Ring

"Um, Buffy?" Willow sounded nervous but Buffy couldn't see anything over the white smoke billowing through the whole room. Xander was still coughing but he seemed to be up and moving. That had to be good, right?

Buffy stepped forward slowly, her hands out before her. "Willow? What happened? Are you okay?"

"Just don't be mad, okay?"

"Mad? Why would … "

A hand, dark blue, wrapped itself around Buffy's wrist. With a flick of her hips and a twist to the side she sent it, whatever it was, flying into the wall. "Ow!"

"Spike? Did that thing get you?"

"Hey," Xander called out from the far end of the room. "I've got the windows open. Willow, a little help getting rid of this smoke?"

Buffy heard Willow muttering something that sounded like a spell. "Spike?"

As Willow's spell drew the smoke out the window, Buffy turned toward the center of the room where Spike had been laid out on the floor. "What the hell'd you throw me for? If you didn't want me here, could've just asked me to leave. I can take a hint you know." But that was coming from the edge of the room. Buffy turned to see Spike down on the floor and against the wall, right where she'd thrown … where she'd thrown him. Spike's skin, what could be seen of it under his white cotton t and jeans, was blue, dark blue, a 'the sun had set about an hour ago and the sky was just this side of black' dark blue.

"Well, that's different."

"Xander, just don't. Willow, what did you do to him?"

"What are you all going on about?" Spike saw his own arm. "Well, that is different."

"Different? Spike, you're blue."

"Feel alright. Wait." Spike started patting the top of his head. "My hair's still white, right?" His skin shifted to a pale green.

"Okay, and that's just making me feel a bit ill," Xander said. Spike's skin turned red. "Oh, that's so much better," Xander added.

"Death cap," Willow shouted out. "There was too much death cap in the spell. I knew we should have adjusted it for a vampire."

Spike turned a pale yellowish-orange. "What are you all going on about?"

"Yes Spike, your hair is still white, but your skin can't decide what color it wants to be," Buffy told him. Spike turned dark blue again.

"It's his emotions," Willow said. "Red is anger. That greenish is concern. And blue, if I remember correctly, is love. The darker the color, the greater the emotion."

"You mean Spike has turned into a giant mood ring?" Xander sounded delighted.

A dark pink Spike glared at Xander.

"Love?" Buffy asked. "He was blue to begin with. That was love?"

Spike's skin turned to a muddled brown. "Not like you never knew."

"When you came back you stayed away because?"

Willow, who'd joined Xander by the corner, pointed out. "Oooh, purple now. That's both love and anger."

"Because you were with that bloody Immortal. Moved on right quick, didn't you?"

"Who the hell is the Immortal?" Buffy asked.

"Um, cover story," Xander said. "Slayer pretending to be you in Rome? High-profile. Very visible. Everyone knows the Immortal."

"You thought that was me? What kind of an idiot are you?"

"Oh. Right. Because you'd never date anyone supernatural, would you? And anyway, Andrew told us it was you."

"Andrew?" Buffy turned her glare on Willow and Xander.

"Don't look at me," Xander said raising his hands as if in surrender. "First I've heard of it." Willow shook her head, me neither.

"You really came looking for me?"

Spike's skin was blue again. "Well, yeah."

"But I told you, back in Sunnydale, that I loved you."

"You were just saying that, pet. I understand."

Buffy opened her mouth and then closed it again. Stared at Spike. "You are such an idiot." She threw herself across the room and into his arms. "But you're my idiot."

They kissed. They kept on kissing.

"Hey, maybe you guys should get a room," Xander joked.

Willow, drawing him toward the door, said, "They have a room."


End file.
